


zahara: a flower in bloom

by qubrazahra



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gangs, Romance, Romantic Fluff, unrivalled queen Zahara, y'all think the boys MVP, y'all wrong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-02
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-22 10:48:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11378646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/qubrazahra/pseuds/qubrazahra
Summary: when shownu rushes to save the girl he loves, he was ready to wound and to fight. what he was not ready for was to find the girl he had only just seconds ago realised he loves, have her captor on his knees before her, his eyes filled with fear and her eyes filled with vengeance.





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i am posting this up to post it up. i been on it, writing this story for a while. i had to write a summary before i could post this up. i am sick and not thinking straight. the summary is bs but i am hoping the chapter makes up for it. hope u buds enjoy it.
> 
>  
> 
> a little fun fact: my username qubrazahra means the greatest flower in bloom so yes being a narcissist of sorts i named the female lead after myself. truly, the 21st century woman who puts no one else but herself on the pedestal.

"you like her don't you you fucking idiot?" the boy beside him asks and shownu just chuckled in his low voice, not directly responding to the question. instead, he reached out for his ringing phone and stopped in his track when he read the name blinking on screen. 

he had long since left the number in his phone to rot. he knew better not to delete it, he knew some day his actions will bear consequences. maybe today is the day. he knew when he left the gang almost a year ago without a scratch, there is bound to be blood shed in time. shownu was never afraid. he knew the results of his actions, he waited for his fate to come through but for months, nothing came for him. in time he almost forgot. but now, his time has come.

"shownu, how you doing buddy?" the voice over the phone asked snarkily. shownu could almost hear the smirk from the other man's voice and his hand curled into a fist. the arrogance in the voice brew anger in shownu's chest but shownu stayed silent to hear what the other had to say.

when shownu was in the gang, wonho and him were brother tied at the hip. never one without the other, ready to die for one another. but above each other was their reverence and respect for their boss, the big ring leader who they work for. when shownu left, there was a void in the gang, felt most closely by wonho. but the longing for shownu never lasted especially not when the boss himself came down and talked sense into wonho. wonho was leading the gang now and they will have no mercy on the people they terrorize and no mercy on the cowards who leave the circle. 

"i miss you, old sport and i really wanted to see you. granted you don't feel the same way, i decided i could make it easier for you to come by and see me yourself." wonho teased, his voice softer now as if talking to a child and wonho was so close to lashing out in return. instead wonho hung up and shownu received an image from wonho.

what shownu received and what laid on the screen of the phone in his hand was nothing at all he expected. there was no way in hell he could imagine her to be involved in the crossfire. no way in fucking hell she's going to stay and be in the middle of it. the anger now reaching his brain, shownu stormed to where he knew the gang was at. 

he had been part of the gang, of the triad since he was 14. he was scouted from the streets, made to be one of them and he was considered one of the best the group had ever gotten. blessed with fighting skills that is laid upon his gifted mind, shownu was bound to be one of the best gangsters there can be. when he left, the space he kept empty was felt not just by those close to him but to everyone else in the circle. 

riding his bike, the only thing in his mind was the photo he saw on his phone. it was her. she was tied up, gagged and the same piercing eyes he is so in love with was still staring dead into the camera. how did they come up with the idea to capture the only person who meant anything at all to him? 

shownu had learnt to love her in time void of her words and his. they're two people who haven't really sat down to talk things through. to settle their feelings and let their emotions be known. instead shownu tells her he got the hots for her, she acknowledges it and she leaves. they have never said anything else about their relationship to each other after that but they continue to have meals together. in a... strange comforting silence. shownu wasn't even sure if they are a couple but he cannot deny the kind of feelings he has for her. thinking about her wrapped around wonho's fingers somewhere, in silence and in fear, gets shownu worked up and he sped his way to his destination. 

he wasn't wrong about where they were at. he was wrong about her being in silence and in fear.

shownu knew better than to just come into the place where the gang usually handles hostage situations so he crept in. made sure he wasn't seen or heard and then maybe he could safely get her out. instead, in front of him was wonho on his knees right in front of the chair in which she was sitting cross legged on. all the other boys were beaten up or already out of the area. shownu watched as she reaches out her hand and pulls wonho to face her. she looks at his face and smiles... before she spits on him, a grin taking over her face.

"you run back to your daddy. you tell him to come see me. you tell him he don't get to lay a finger on this lady without knowing about consequences." she relayed in a voice soft, almost melodious.

"you tell him, zahara is coming," she threatened her voice now inching sharper, "and zahara is not happy."


	2. chapter 2

it took just one swing of her arm for wonho to be left sprawled on the ground. shownu kept his mouth silent albeit it already dropped on the floor. he watched her grab her coat on the floor and put it back on, she grabbed her bag and she made her way out of the grimy dark place. she did not stutter, there was no evidence in her strut that she had just been taken hostage by people she didn't know and shownu watched, mouth agape.

there was no reason for him to have imagined that she was capable of doing what he had just seen her do. she's tough, he'll give that to her. she never stood idly by inequality and she pretty much got everyone to not spark trouble with her just because she had something inanely mysterious about her. she never really fought anyone or made herself be painted as someone not be messed with but there was just something about her that kept people away. and the same thing that kept people away, kept shownu coming. she had always been like that. 

but there had never been a time when shownu could have guessed that she was capable of that. of fighting that many men - of making wonho kneel in front of her, wordlessly. 

shownu isn't sure if he should leave her be or follow her and eventually ask her if she is alright. she seems pretty fine, in fact she looks comfortable as if nothing had happened. 

"i know you're there, shownu." the voice called and shownu stood in his tracks. she retraced her steps and she stood face to face with shownu. a little surprised, he just smiled and laughed awkwardly. 

"seems like we're going the same way." he said with a nervous chuckle.

"you want to stop by my apartment for something to drink?" she suddenly asked and it took shownu 5 whole seconds to respond with a nod of his head.

she motions for them to get going and eventually she navigated them both to what looks like an abandoned house. when she unlocked the door to the garage of said building and turned on the lights, what exist in front of him was beyond his imagination. there was a loft and there was an exercise space, in fact there was a boxing ring beside what looks to him to be a kitchen and he had to digest what he is seeing instantly. there was also a living area with tv and game consoles and if he could deduce it, this space looks so much like a place he would die to live in. he was still marvelling over the area when he noticed her leaving him and throwing her bag aside before grabbing herself a can of beer. she gulps it down with a satisfied sigh and sat comfortably on the sofa. 

“so… you stay here?” he asked still in awe of the entire place. it was the kind of place he would die to live in. instead, she just nods and slides the other can of beer across the table. he receives and drinks it. his eyes never strayed from her, he looks at her skin, her arms and he searched for bruises and wounds. miraculously there isn't one. 

"what are you looking for?" she asked with a small smile teasingly and shownu smiled. he never really heard the tone of her voice curl that way, in a joking manner and he thought she sounded... cute. he almost laughed aloud but decided against it with a shake of his head. she shrugged and got up to grab an apple from the table. 

"are you not hurt?" he finally asked when she wasn't sitting in front of him. she had her back to him and somehow he was braver when he isn't seen. she smiled to herself and turned to face him. she waited for him to face her too. it took seconds of silence before shownu realised she wanted his sight on her and she smiled. 

she doesn't smile very often and when she does, shownu always wondered why she hid it so often. he always wished she smiled more. he feels humbled that in this space where they both exist in the same space and time he was here to witness it all, her beauty in the most unexpected and charming moment of her life. 

he kept his gaze fixed on her, wordless but still worry inching his face when he thinks about the things wonho could have done to her. of course, at the moment when he came, she looked to be the one in control, shownu could not shake off the feeling of not knowing the kind of exchanges that happened before he came. wonho and his boys could have easily hurt her too and he prayed that that did not happen. he was still in a trance thinking about how afraid she must have been when she took steps forward towards him. within seconds, she was in front of him, eye levelled with his, face just a palm away from each other.

"i am doing perfect, shownu, thank you for coming."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm sick and i am thinking about posting all the stuff i have. enjoy my friends


	3. chapter 3

shownu had always done the things he knew was right. he never really had anyone teaching him what was wrong or what was right, he always relied heavily on his instincts. if it felt bad, its bad. if it feels good, it's good. he never really bothered about consequences or anything like that. when she told him she is doing perfect and when she thanked him like that, with her eyes inches away from his, there was a warmness he had never known brewing in the broad of his chest. 

everything he had done were orders or things that were meant to be done so very rarely he was thanked. he was very much underappreciated, not quite the fella that everyone was jealous of. so when she comes around, comes out of a situation where she should be screaming out of her damn mind, looking ferociously undefeated, thanking him - he figured she has got to be the woman of his life. 

he moved in quickly, feeling the warmth of her lips embracing his and he thought about why he waited this long to kiss her. it was only when he was breathless that he broke away, resting his cheek on her skin, realising the pink in her cheeks. he took his palm to her other cheek and he felt her lean into it, the soft of her skin against his. he feels her smile against his mouth and he leans into the sofa more comfortably with her in his arm. 

there is something about her, he knew the first time he saw her. she's beautiful, as beautiful as flowers in the dawn of may, maybe even more. bright eyes, rosy cheeks, hair brown in the warmth of the sunlight. a girl like her can never be made for boy roughly cut around the edges like him. she is proper, always neat, always poised. everything about her yelled untouchable and that was how it was for a while. wonho stayed behind the lines, behind an invisible boundary because he believed so much that he was unfit to even stand by her. he's leftover thrown aside to fend for himself, who is he kidding for him to talk to a girl like that? 

but one day eventually, as life would have it, somehow their path crossed. neither of them knew exactly when it was that they became so entangled with each other. from the time they sat next to each other in one of the lecture and continued to do so for the rest of the semester, somehow they became lunch buddies and study buddies and eventually they got stuck with each other. 

there's something about her that made him think she was way out of his league but he couldn't exactly pinpoint what it was. and apparently this was not something exclusive to him. as popular as she was for her looks and the grandeur that follows her, there was little to none that people knew about her. there wasn't quite anyone who was close enough to her who divulge any information about her. she is as beautiful as she was clouded in absolute mystery. so when shownu came along, the silence was comforting. 

for her, the silence that came with this boy was exactly what she needed. in time, she couldn't get rid of him and he couldn't get rid of her. neither of them would admit it but they knew they were way too smitten, regardless of the fact that all of these were confirmed without words. 

"took you long enough to kiss me," she started, head resting on the sofa, eyes fixed on the high ceiling, "if you hadn't, i would've." 

shownu smiled and snuck a peck on her cheek. ticklish as she was, she shook a little, giggling, a sound that shownu later learnt to be something he would kill to hear over and over again. 

he had questions, so many to ask her to straighten what he had seen. but mostly just one: who was the girl sitting eye to eye with wonho a while ago in that god forsaken place? but he couldn't get himself to ask that. not when the girl beside him was giggling like she was snuggling into his own body. this is a heaven he never thought he could hold with his two filthy hands. the kind of heaven he would kill to keep holding. 

it is an hour later and they are in the boxing ring: gloves on, ready to go. she was ready to go. wonho on the other hand... he was a little skeptical. he wasn't about to punch the girl he is sure he's going to love forever for nothing. 

"oh come on, don't let me hit you first... it'll hurt." she warned with a glint of truth in her eyes, shownu knew there was no kidding in what she just said. the fists he put in front of his chest in defence fell to his sides and he looked longingly at her. he was sure he loves her now. he is sure of it. but who does he love? 

"you want to know how i did it, don't you?" she sighed as she pulled the gloves off her hands and took strides towards him. she took his hands in hers and pulled the gloves off him too. she laid in the middle of the ring, tapped the empty space beside her and motioned for him to follow suit. wonho would much rather lay by her that punch each other out so he moved without her needing to say it twice. 

he hears her sigh a little more and he sat up. he pulls her up and makes her sit before him so he could see her eyes and her lips. 

"i'll tell you, shownu," she started, "and if you choose to leave, i understand."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know. 3 chapters in a row? for a story that i just started posting like 2 minutes ago? am i nuts? why am i mass posting everything i have? 
> 
> maybe because i am high off medication. also chapter 4 coming up!


	4. chapter 4

"i'm zahara, you know that name don't you?" she asked and shownu stiffened. 

he knows a zahara. of course he does, everyone knows the zahara. he just couldn't be sure if she was confessing that she's the zahara that he is thinking of. it took the fire in her eyes to tell him that she is, that she's the zahara that sews the lips of everyone around him. there was nothing else she needs to say, everything about her is in her name.

there is one man who holds seoul in the palm of his hand. of course there are politicians, of course there are congressmen. but no man sits at the throne like Dragon. everyone knows who Dragon is, not all have seen him but everyone knew better than to doubt that he exists. not a lot of people knows how he looks like, he gives orders, he is king. a king never leaves the comfort of his throne. but a king also has someone took take his place comes the day.

everybody knows that Dragon's successor is zahara. 

she is his prized possession. the name is known but her face had always been hidden. she was always kept secret. everybody just knew names: they know Dragon, they know zahara- but no one know either of them looked. if they do, they never tell because they'll know about consequences then. 

"i cannot promise to put you above myself and the responsibilities on my shoulder," she warned, voice honest and true, "but i am sincere with what i have with you."

shownu have never seen her like this. voice poised and confident, knowing exactly who she is and what she wants. the woman in front of him holds power like her own skin and he was more than just afraid, he was willing to worship. there was something about the way her words sounds when they fall out of her mouth and wonho becomes devoted to a goddess like her. he knows he is done for. he knows there is no way in hell he was every going to go back to the kind of life being part of the triad was but if the woman he loves lives like that, he can learn to understand. 

of course when she said the name zahara without discretion or fear, it did put some sense in him. here he is merely a man who has, without shame, fallen in love with a girl who is more than he ever expected her to be. of course he knew there was more to her. in the span of time in which he knew her, he knows her beauty, her immense attractiveness and how unrivalled their compatibility was. but there was nothing more personal about her that he knew. still, pining her to be zahara would be a stretch had she not confessed it herself.

"zahara." 

he breathes her name. he knows that name, heard it whispered hushed by men who towered over him. he heard it before but he had never said it consciously. somehow he thought that if he did, it would put him in jeopardy. this is the first time he said her name like that. the name that he never knew her by. it felt... different to call her that. he knew it was different for her too.

the way the name curl around the lips of men who called it when summoning her, made her blood rush across her body like constellations. she had a name, of course but nobody called her zahara unless it was allowed by her. so when anyone called her that, a strange possession takes over her. she feels empowered. the name becomes a suit and she becomes god. 

when shownu called her that in the middle of their silence that followed her honest confession, it felt like rain falling on her skin. it was as if she had been in drought and there was sudden fall of rain and she felt so alive. there was fire in her eyes, the fire wonho had only recognised a few minutes ago. she sat in the same place as she did for a while but the woman in her is different. 

"say my name, shownu." she whispered, her lips barely parted, eyes searching eyes and her hands makes its way to his shoulders driving up his neck. and he said it, he says her name like it was prayer and like a god called upon in his shrine, she went in for him as he stood for the taking. 

they kissed breathlessly, with as much passion as they never did. she refused to acknowledge it but she knows that she more than just adore wonho. there was a need to constantly have him around, to always see him be with her. that kind of attraction takes her off her feet and she crawls her way into his lap, finding home in the warmth of his chest. 

"zahara." 

he doesn't know how to stop. the first time the name falls out his mouth, he was so close to apologising. if not for her asking him to repeat it, he would've kissed her hand in apology. he felt as if he wasn't good enough to be able to breathe he name. now, he couldn't stop, he doesn't know how to. her name takes residence over his voice and he calls for her over and over and his hands run over and over along the soft curves of her body. her body which he had for so long craved for.

this was how he loves her: he enjoys her company and he learns her. he understands the things she enjoy and the things she doesn't. but now she is body to body with him, chest to chest and this woman is a whole other entity. she is a whole other being to the woman he had learn for a while and it feels like sin.

they would have gone more insane, entangled with each other if not for the sound of the garage opening and for the entrance of two burly big men almost 3 times her size. shownu could swear he heard her curse before she went from where she initially was to standing in front of the men. the men, broad and big as they were, stood in front of her, arms in a position of absolute respect, knees slowly falling to kneel on the ground. shownu was not sure what he was supposed to do at this point. 

"we deserve to be punished." one of the men said, head hung low, their color running off their skin. if anything, wonho is sure they were scared out of their wits.

"what for, sugar?" she asked, hand reaching out to the man's chin, pulling him to look at her dead in the eye without any ounce of fear.

"we should've been vigilant. our job is to protect you." he confessed.

"so then," she started before she grabbed a chair, place it in front of them and taking a seat crossed legged, "why was it that i had to protect myself?" 

the two men did not answer and only had their head down in complete reverence, sure of the punishment they would get. there was little hope or any glimmer of anything in their eye. if anything, it seemed as if they were sure of heir end in her hands. 

"i like you boys, you both minded your business and left me to my vices." she confessed, "i don't want to hurt you... but don't you think zahara deserves compensation?" 

it was as if her name was a magic word. at the sound of it, the men shudder as if they had even more fear than before. wonho did not know if he was allowed to move. he did not take that risk, instead he stayed in placed and watched her act in a persona he had never saw her take before. 

"wonho," she hissed the name, vengeance lacing the name, "bring him to me, his blood will be on my hands."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> indeed, 4 chapters in a row!


End file.
